snmp

| SNMP
Why use SNMP: What is SNMP Procedures: General SNMP settings Create community strings Display an SNMP view Display an SNMP group Add, change, delete SNMP users Tips on using this window: Click the column headings to sort information. Click Submit to save your changes. Click Cancel to discard unsaved changes. Back to the top ### What Is SNMP The switch supports Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) versions 1, 2C, and 3. SNMP is a protocol that allows the switch to be remotely managed through other network management software. SNMP is based on three concepts: SNMP managers (or management stations), SNMP agents (or network devices), and the Management Information Base (MIB). The SNMP manager runs SNMP management software. Network devices to be managed, such as bridges, routers, servers, and workstations, are equipped with an agent software module. The agent provides access to a local MIB of objects that reflects the resources and activity of the device. The agent also responds to manager commands to retrieve values from the MIB and to set values in the MIB. The agent and MIB are on the switch. To configure SNMP on the switch, you define the relationship between the manager and the agent. Both SNMPv1 and v2C use a community-based form of security. SNMP managers can access the agent MIB through passwords referred to as community strings. SNMPv1 and v2C are generally used for network monitoring without network control. SNMPv3 provides network monitoring and control. It provides secure access to devices by a combination of authenticating and encrypting packets over the network. The security model used by SNMPv3 is an authentication strategy that is set up for a user and the group in which the user resides. A security level is the permitted level of security within a security model. A combination of a security model and a security level determines which security mechanism is used for an SNMP packet. Note the following about SNMPv3 objects: Each user belongs to a group. A group defines the access policy for a set of users. An access policy defines which SNMP objects can be accessed for reading, writing, and creating. A group determines the list of notifications that its users can receive. A group also defines the security model and the security level for its users. An SNMP view is a list of MIBs that a group can access. Data can be securely collected from SNMP devices without fear of the data being tampered with or corrupted. Confidential information, for example, SNMP Set command packets that change a router configuration, can be encrypted to prevent the contents from being exposed on the network. Back to the top ### System Options Enable SNMP if you plan to have the switch managed through another network management application. To enable SNMP, click Enable on the main SNMP window. The default is that the Enable checkbox is unchecked, meaning SNMP is disabled. Other general SNMP settings include the name of the switch or the network administrator and the switch location. This information appears in the Switch Information area on the Dashboard.
System Contact | The name of the administrator for the switch or network. The name can have up to 31 alphanumeric characters. The name cannot contain a ? or a tab.
System Location | The location of the switch. The location can have up to 31 alphanumeric characters. The location name cannot contain a ? or a tab.
Back to the top ### Create Community Strings Community strings are forms of passwords to the switch Management Information Base (MIB). You can create community strings that allow a remote manager read-only or read-write access to the switch. To create a community string: Click Read-Only if the string should allow only read-only access to the switch. Click Read-Write if the string should allow read-write access to the switch. The Read-Only community string operates as a password that enables the switch to validate Get (read-only) requests from a network management station. If you set the SNMP read community, users can access MIB objects, but cannot change them. The Read-Write community string operates as a password that enables the switch to validate Set (read-write) requests from a network management station. If you set the SNMP write community, users can access and change MIB objects. Enter a community string in the New String field. The string can be up to 31 alphanumeric characters. The string cannot contain a ?, a space, or a tab. The Read community string and the Write community string cannot be the same. Click Add. To remove community strings from the list, highlight the string, and then click Remove. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 until you have created all of your community strings. Click Submit to save your changes. To discard unsaved changes, click Cancel. Back to the top ### Display an SNMP View Click the View tab to display the SNMP object identifiers (OIDs) of objects that can be accessed. This tab displays the v1default view, which provides access to all of the switch MIBs. Back to the top ### Display an SNMP Group Click the Groups tab to display the attributes of the v1defaultGroup SNMP group. Back to the top ### Add, Change, and Delete SNMP Users To add a user to the v1defaultGroup SNMP group: Click Create from the SNMP Users tab. Enter the name of a user. The string can be up to 31 alphanumeric characters. The string cannot contain a ?, a space, or a tab. Note: This field is required. Choose an authentication algorithm to protect the SNMP traffic. None means that no security mechanism is required for SNMP packets. MD5 means that authentication is based on the hash-based Message Authentication Code Message Digest 5 (HMAC-MD5) algorithm. SHA means that authentication is based on the hash-based Message Authentication Code Secure Hash (HMAC-SHA) algorithm. Enter a password. The string can be up to 64 alphanumeric characters. Enter the password again. Click Done. To discard any unsaved changes, click Cancel. Click Submit to save your changes. To discard unsaved changes, click Cancel. Back to the top To change a user: Check the check box for the user on the SNMP Users tab. Click Modify. Choose an authentication algorithm to protect the SNMP traffic. None means that no security mechanism is required for SNMP packets. MD5 means that authentication is based on the hash-based Message Authentication Code Message Digest 5 (HMAC-MD5) algorithm. SHA means that authentication is based on the hash-based Message Authentication Code Secure Hash (HMAC-SHA) algorithm. Enter a password. The string can be up to 64 alphanumeric characters. Enter the password again. Click Done. To discard any unsaved changes, click Cancel. Click Submit to save your changes. To discard unsaved changes, click Cancel. Back to the top To delete a user: On the Users tab, select one or more users: Check the check box at the top of the Select column to select all users. Check the check box for one or more specific users. Click Delete. Click Submit to save your changes. To discard unsaved changes, click Cancel. Back to the top